Kinclaith
Before it's demolition, Kinclaith was the oldest malt Whisky distillery in Glasgow. The distillery really doesn't match the traditional image of a Malt Whisky distillery. It existed within the Speyside grain Whisky complex. Unfortunately it was closed after 18 years of service.
| Information about the Distillery | |
|---|---|
| Scotland, Lowlands | |
| -4.241030 55.848737 | |
| Inactive | |
| 1957 | |
| 1975 | |
| Strathclyde & Long John Distilleries Ltd. |
| Average tasting notes Tasting notes |
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The Whisky
Bottlings of Kinclaith are extremely rare. Due to their rareness, the prices of the bottlings have continued to soar since the distillery's closure in 1975, with bottles now collecting prices between $1'500 and $4'000 each. This scarcity is made even more intense by the face that Kinclaith never actually released an official bottling. Signatory Vintage and Gordon & MacPhail have performed independent bottlings from the site. Many of these independent bottlings were vintages from the mid-to late 1960s. Kinclaith has not been a distillery by itself. The Malt Whisky distillery was part of the Strathspey grain Whisky complex.
Bottlings of Kinclaith are extremely rare. Due to their rareness, the prices of the bottlings have continued to soar since the distillery's closure in 1975, with bottles now collecting prices between $1'500 and $4'000 each. This scarcity is made even more intense by the face that Kinclaith never actually released an official bottling. Signatory Vintage and Gordon & MacPhail have performed independent bottlings from the site. Many of these independent bottlings were vintages from the mid-to late 1960s. Kinclaith has not been a distillery by itself. The Malt Whisky distillery was part of the Strathspey grain Whisky complex.
The Production
The water used in the production is drawn from Loch Katrine. Unfortunately, the distillery's production capacity is unknown after the demolition of the distillery, although as the distillery functioned with only one wash and one spirit still, experts estimated that the production capacity must have been around or under 200'000 liters a year.
The Pot Stills
Kinclaith distillery has one wash still and one spirit still. Unfortunately, there is a real lack of information concerning the size and shape of the Kinclaith pot stills. What we do know, however, is that the pot stills most probably had a traditional 'Speyside' shape, with wide spherical lids and a tall conical neck.
The Maltings
Kinclaith distillery sourced it's malts from an industrial source in Glasgow – which is no surprise, seeing as Kinclaith distillery lay within the far larger Strathspey grain Whisky complex, which produces about 40 million liters of alcohol a year. The malts used in the production were unpeated..
The Warehouse
It isn't certain where the casks of Kinclaith were warehoused, but most experts agree that it was most probably somewhere in Glasgow. The spirit was aged in a combination of Sherry and American and European Oak casks. The Sherry casks in particular were met with great critical acclaim.
The History
Before it's demolition, Kinclaith was the oldest Malt Whisky distillery in Glasgow. The distillery really doesn't match the traditional image of a Malt Whisky distillery. It existed within the Speyside grain Whisky complex. Despite the fact that it was tucked away, relatively out of sight, Kinclaith was the largest Malt Whisky distillery in Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. The Speyside complex was founded in 1927, and Kinclaith distillery itself was established in 1957. Long John International Limited, who also owned the Strathspey complex, founded the distillery. In 1975, Whitbread bought the distillery, and the equipment used in the production of Kinclaith single malt was dismantled. The site now belongs to Pernod Ricard, and is still producing grain Whisky to this day.
Visitor's Centre
Sadly, there is no visitor's centre at what would have been the site of Kinclaith distillery. There used to be a small room in the industrial complex which showed remains of the distillery.
User Notes about the Distillery
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